Great California Shakedown

Today every Californian is urged to participate in the Great California Shakeout. On the program's website, here's what they claim:

"At 10:15 a.m. on October 15, 2009, millions of Californians will participate in the largest earthquake drill ever!

The purpose of the ShakeOut is to practice how to protect ourselves during earthquakes, and to get prepared at work, school, and home."

Seems simple enough. How do I participate? Individuals are urged to:

"Do a 'hazard hunt'" - this means clear your home of any obstacles, and secure items which may fall.

"Store at least one gallon of water per person, per day, for 3 days and ideally for 2 weeks. What else would you need to be on your own for up to two weeks?" - so you should consolidate foodstuffs, water, and survival items in one easy to grab place.

"Identify your building's weaknesses...Ask a local earthquake retrofitting contractor for a free structural inspection of your home or building" - Hmmm...

And then at 10:15 you're all supposed to do this:

Does this scare anyone else?

You're supposed to clear your house of obstacles, identify it's weaknesses and tell them to a third party, consolidate valuables, then hide at 10:15? I believe the State of California has contracted with retrofitting contractors statewide to ransack your homes all at the same time.

That's the only way they'll be able to balance the budget and return the economy to a state of normalcy. Of course, that means you'll be out several gallons of water and many boxes of Twinkies (and probably a Nintendo DS).

I, for one, will NOT hide under my desk (because I'm already in my bomb shelter quaking).

If you really want to be prepared for catastrophe, watch Zombieland.